Magnetic paint brush holder



May 7, 1963 B. H. MORRIS MAGNETIC PAINT BRUSH HOLDER Filed April 17, 1961 INVENTOR.

BERTRAM H. M

RRIS

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,088,703 Patented May 7, 1963 3,088,703 MAGNETIC PAINT BRUSH HOLDER Bertram H. Morris, 3139 Hudson Drive, Cuyahoga Fails, Ohio Filed Apr. 17, 1961, Ser. No. 103,323 2 Claims. (11. 248-226) The present invention relates to improvements in magnetic paint brush holders. More particularly, the present invention relates to a magnetic paint brush holder which can be fastened to the lip of a paint bucket, or the like, in various dispositions. Specifically, the present invention relates to a magnetic paint brush holder having a specially constructed spring clamp whereby the holder may be clipped upon the edge of a paint bucket in such a variety of ways as to permit horizontal, vertical or intermediate angular disposition of a brush held thereby with respect to the bucket.

Anyone who has ever used a paint brush is apprised of the many difiiculties which arise as a result of the lack of a means to support the brush when it is not in use. For example, the standard procedure employed when climbing a ladder with a paint brush and bucket is to carry both in one hand, leaving the other free for climbing. This is awkward and inconvenient, and unless extreme care is exercised in maintaining the brush in a bristle-down position at all times paint may flow back across the brush skirt onto the handle. Another procedure when climbing is to lay the brush across the top of the bucket, in which case the brush is apt to slide off and fall to the ground.

Another problem arises when the painter attempts to lay the brush down temporarily at the Work location. customarily, the painter lays the brush across the top of the bucket, supporting the bristles and handle simultaneously on opposite sides thereof. This permits paint retained in the bristles to exude down the side of the bucket; allows undue accumulation of paint near the bristle base, resulting in eventual overflow onto the brush skirt; and, permits any paint residue on the lip of the bucket to be transferred onto the brush handle.

Still a further problem arises at the end of the work day. Because the paint must not be permitted to dry in the brush, the bristles are generally soaked in a paint solvent. If the brush stands in the solvent can, the weight of the brush is supported on the bristles. This causes them to bend, damaging the brush. If the brush is supported in the solvent can by the customary method of suspending from a supporting rod inserted in a hole bored transversely of the handle, there is the difiiculty attendant in adjusting the height of the brush relative to the depth of the solvent in order to permit the bristles to be completely submerged and yet not rest against the bottom of the can.

It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic paint brush holder having a unique spring clip which permits it to be mounted on a paint can selectively to position a brush supported thereby horizontally, vertically or at intermediate degrees.

This and other objects which will become apparent in the following specification are accomplished by means hereinafter described and claimed.

One preferred embodiment is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter described in detail without attempting to show all of the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied; the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of this specification.

In general, a magnetic paint brush holder according to the present invention comprises a magnet which is attached to the supporting legs of a special spring clip. The outer ends of the supporting legs are shaped into two opposed and staggered scroll-like coiled torsional members which are in suflicient proximity to bias toward each other against an interposed object, such as the lip of a paint bucket. Greater versatility is provided when the scroll-like members are staggered such that they are angularly disposed with respect to the magnet.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a magnetic paint brush holder according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the paint brush holder depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a paint bucket on which a magnetic paint brush holder is mounted so as to support a brush vertically;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 in which the holder is mounted so as to support the brush horizontally;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 in which the holder is mounted so as to support the brush inclined at 45;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a straight lipped edge, as on a straight-edged can or a paint tray, on which a magnetic paint brush holder is mounted so as to support a brush inclined at 15; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 in which the holder is mounted so as to support the brush vertically.

While the holder is described and shown as being particularly adapted for use with a paint brush, it is obvious that it can be used with equal facility for supporting a scraper or the like.

In the drawings, a magnetic paint brush holder according to the present invention is designated generally by the numeral 10. Holder 16 comprises a base member 11 on one side 12 of which is secured a magnet 13, either by screws 14-, crimping, cement, or other suitable means. On the other side 15 of base 11 is secured a clip member 16. This clip member 16 is preferably formed from spring steel, but in any event is made of a flexible stable material.

In the embodiment shown, two supporting legs 17 and 18 extend perpendicularly out from base 11 to which they are suitably attached by the connecting portion 20 of clip 16, as by welding 21.

The outer portion of legs 17 and 18 are both bent into inwardly coiled resilient gripping heads 22 and 23, respectively. The scroll-like convolutions which form each head 22 and 23 are oppositely convoluted and are disposed adjacently to each other in such a way that they are coplanar as viewed in FIG. 2 although staggered as viewed in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the gripping heads 22 and 23 are in abutment. However, it is not mandatory that they actually abut so long as they are tangentially adjacent. For the purpose of the present disclosure, adjacent means within sufiicient proximity to each other that the object on which the holder is to be mounted, such as the wall of a paint bucket, when inserted between them, will incur the resilient bias of the heads toward each other. When the heads 22 and 23 are thus adjacently staggered the distance between the supporting legs adjacent the heads is less than the combined diameter of the convolutions.

The staggered disposition of the heads 22 and 23 permits the holder 10 to be attached to a paint bucket in a variety of ways. For convenience in describing the use of the holder 10, head 22 will be designated the inner head and head 23 will be designated the outer head because of their spaced relationship with respect to base 11.

One operative position of holder 10 is depicted in FIG. 3. The side wall 25 of the partially depicted paint bucket has a top lip 26 from which extends an inwardly rolled drip groove 27. The outer head 23 engages the outer side of wall 25 adjacent lip 26 and the inner head 22 engages the underside of the drip groove 27 and the inner side of wall 25 below drip groove 27. The sup porting leg 18 rides across the top of drip groove 27 and lip 26, and, with the heads 22 and 23 biasing toward each other against the interposed portion of the paint bucket, the holder is securely maintained in position. When the metal skirt 30 of a paint brush 31 is brought in contact with the magnet 13, the brush will be firmly supported with the bristles 32 vertically disposed. When mounted on the paint bucket in this disposition the holder is especially adapted for use when the bucket is not full or when it is desired to support the brush in a solvent.

In the operative position depicted in FIG. 4, the inner head 22 engages the underside of drip groove 27 and the inner side of wall 25 immediately below drip groove 27. The outer head 23 engages the outer side of wall 25 well below the lip 26 such that the connecting portion 20 of the clip 16 lies across the top of drip groove 27 in lip 26 with the heads 22 and 23 biasing toward each other against the interposed portion of the paint bucket to maintain the holder securely in position. In this disposition the holder will support a brush horizontally and is therefore useful when the bucket is nearly full so that the bristles are not constantly retained in the paint.

As shown in FIG. 5, the inner head 22 engages the upper side of drip groove 27 and the outer head 23 engages the underside of drip groove 27 and the inner side of wall 25 immediately below drip groove 27. Even with no other portion of the clip contacting the bucket the bias of the two heads 22 and 23 toward each other is sufficient to maintain the holder securely in position. S oriented, the brush will be inclined at approximately a 45 angle. When using a narrow brush this provides an alternative position for preferential selection by the painter. However, when using a very wide brush with a relatively small diameter paint bucket, this particular disposition may be .a mandatory substitute for the position depicted in FIG. 3. By elevating the brush and inclining it, as is possible in the FIG. position, the width of the brush will not intersect the curvature of the bucket and will not interfere with supporting the brush as is the situation when a wide brush is attempted to be supported on a narrow bucket in the FIG. 3 position.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show two alternative positions in which the holder 10 can be supported on straight sided can having a lip'26 but not having a drip groove. Such an edge might, for example, be found on a paint tray.

i In this way a painter using a roller can have an edging brush conveniently at hand.

In both the FIG. 6 and 7 positions the inner heads 22 engage the inside wall 25 .and the outer head 23 engages the outside wall 25, the difierence in the positions being effected by whether lip 26 is received within the intersection of connecting leg '20 and supporting leg 18 of clip 16, as in FIG. 6, or whether the supporting leg 18 lies across the top of lip 26', as in FIG. 7..

It is therefore, readily apparent that a device according to the present invention provides a convenient paint brush holder whereby a brush supported thereby can be selectively oriented in various dispositions with respect to the object on which the holder is clipped.

What is claimed is:

1. In a holder for attaching a paint brush to the rim of a paint bucket or the like in either vertical, horizontal or at intermediate degrees comprising, a base, a magnetic holding means secured to one side of said base, spaced apart, resilient supporting legs extending outwardly from the other side of said base, said legs being of dilferent lengths and terminating in convoluted, scroll-like, resilient gripping heads, said gripping heads being positioned in adjacent tangential opposition with the legs parallel in the static inoperative position of said holder.

2. A holder for attaching a paint brush to the rim of a paint bucket or the like in either vertical, horizontal or at intermediate degrees comprising, a base, a magnet secured to one side of said base, spaced apart, springingly resilient supporting legs extending outwardly from the opposite sides of said base, said legs being parallel in the static position of said holder, said legs being of diiferent lengths with the outer end of each leg being oppositely coiled into resilient, scroll-like convoluted gripping heads,

said gripping heads lying in adjacent tangential opposition with the distance between said parallel supporting legs being less than the distance across the combined diameter of said coiled gripping heads when said holder is in static inoperative position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Popular Science, page 140, March 1959. 

1. IN A HOLDER FOR ATTACHING A PAINT BRUSH TO THE RIM OF A PAINT BUCKET OR THE LIKE IN EITHER VERTICAL, HORIZONTAL OR AT INTERMEDIATE DEGREES COMPRISING A BASE, A MAGNETIC HOLDING MEANS SECURED TO ONE SIDE OF SAID BASE, SPACED APART, RESILIENT SUPPORTING LEGS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID BASE, SAID LEGS BEING OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS AND TERMINATING IN CONVOLUTED, SCROLL-LIKE, RESILIENT GRIPPING HEADS, SAID GRIPPING HEADS BEING POSITIONED IN ADJACENT TANGENTIAL OPPOSITION WITH THE LEGS PARALLEL IN THE STATIC INOPERATIVE POSITION OF SAID HOLDER. 